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Thanks for the support throughout all these years :)
Paint Shop Pro 7
Bald Eagle
Updated on June 26, 2004 for a more realistic look.
Basic shapes
Create a new image.
» Settings: any size you wish, 72 dpi, background color = transparent, image type = 16.7 million colors.
Add a new vector layer. Name it neck.
Delete Layer1.
Set the stroke color to null and the fill color to dark brown.
» My color: #382320.
With the Draw tool create a shape as shown below.
» Settings: type = point to point line, antialias + create as vector + close path = checked.
With the Object Selector tool right-click on the shape and choose Create Raster Selection.
Save this selection to an alpha channel. Name it neck.
Deselect.
Add a new vector layer. Name it head.
Change the fill color to very light beige.
» My color: #FEFBF6.
With the Draw tool make another shape as shown below.
Create a selection for this shape and save it to an alpha channel. Name it head.
Deselect.
Add a new vector layer. Name it beak#1.
Change the fill color to dark yellow.
» My color: #D7AF23.
With the Draw tool make another shape as shown below.
Add a new vector layer. Name it beak#2.
Change the fill color to a slightly lighter shade of yellow.
» My color: #E5C035.
With the Draw tool make another shape as shown below.
Add a new vector layer. Name it nostril.
Change the fill color to dark red.
» My color: #AD3D20.
With the Draw tool make another shape as shown below.
Note: for this shape to close you need to use at least 3 points.
Add a new vector layer. Name it eye#1.
Change the fill color to light brown.
» My color: #B3947C.
With the Draw tool make another shape as shown below.
Add a new vector layer. Name it eye#2.
Change the fill color to a greyish shade of the previous brown used.
» My color: #BDAFA3.
With the Draw tool make another shape as shown below.
Add a new vector layer. Name it eye#3.
Change the fill color to brown.
» My color: #8C624D.
With the Preset Shapes tool make an ellipse as shown below.
» Settings: ellipse, retain style = unchecked, antialias and create as vector = checked.
Add a new vector layer. Name it eye#4.
Change the fill color to very dark brown (almost black).
» My color: #2A1C1A.
With the Preset Shapes tool make an ellipse as shown below.
There’s no need to create a selection for this shape.
And finally…
Add a new vector layer. Name it eyebrow.
Change the fill color to a slightly darker shade of the light beige used for the head (just for you to be able to see the shape against the head).
» My color: #FCF3E6.
With the Draw tool make another shape as shown below.
Create a raster selection for this shape and save it to an alpha channel. Name it eyebrow.
Deselect.
Now is a very good time to save your work. Make sure that you save it as a .psp file and that this file is PSP 7 compatible (click on the Options button on the Save file dialog box to check the compatibility), otherwise you’ll loose all the vector shapes and the alpha channels.
Feathers
Put the eagle image aside for a while.
Create a new image.
» Settings: 300×300 pixels, 72 dpi, background color = transparent, image type = 16.7 million colors.
Go to View – Grid of hit Ctrl + Alt + G.
Then go to View – Change Grid and Guide Properties.
» Settings: horizontal spacing = 75, vertical spacing = 150, color = black.
Add a new vector layer and delete Layer1.
Change the fill color to light beige (the same color of the head).
» My color: #FEFBF6.
With the Draw tool make several shapes as shown below.
Make sure that each shape is placed according to the grid.
Note: the grey background is for viewing purpose only, your image should be transparent (checkers).
When finished, convert this layer to raster.
Using the Retouch tool darken the top area of the shapes a bit.
» Settings: Darken RGB, shape = round, size = 50, hardness = 0, opacity = 100, step = 25, density = 100.
Change the density to 50 and use the Retouch tool on the top area of each shape again.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Lighten RGB and use it on the bottom area of each shape.
» Settings: shape = round, size = 100, hardness = 0, opacity = 100, step = 25, density = 50.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Smudge and use it around each shape moving the brush from the outside to the inside area (drag and release), so that you break the edges a bit.
» Settings: shape = round, size = 50, hardness = 100, opacity = 15, step = 1, density = 50.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Saturation Up and use it over random spots on each shape.
» Settings: shape = round, size = 100, hardness = 0, opacity = 50, step = 25, density = 100.
Now that your white feathers are finished, export them as a picture tube.
» Settings: cells across = 4, cells down = 2, placement mode = random, step size = 20, selection mode = random, name = white_feathers.
Now delete the white shapes.
Add a new vector layer and delete the previous raster layer.
Change the fill color to the same dark brown used for the neck.
» My color: #382320.
With the Preset Shapes tool make several ellipses as shown below.
Remember to follow the grids again.
Convert this layer to raster.
With the Retouch tool lighten the bottom area of the shapes.
» Settings: Lighten RGB, shape = round, size = 50, hardness = 0, opacity = 100, step = 25, density = 100.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Dodge and use it on random areas of each shape.
» Settings: shape = round, size = 100, hardness = 0, opacity = 15, step = 25, density = 80.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Burn and use it on just a few shapes at the top area.
» Settings: shape = round, size = 100, hardness = 0, opacity = 10, step = 25, density = 100.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Smudge and break the edges again. This time, however, make the movement from inside out.
» Settings: shape = round, size = 50, hardness = 0, opacity = 25, step = 1, density = 25.
Export these shapes as a picture tube.
» Settings: cells across = 4, cells down = 2, placement mode = random, step size = 15, selection mode = random, name = brown_feathers.
Close this image (no need to save it).
Painting
Open the eagle image again.
Make the neck layer active and add a new raster layer. Name it neck2.
With the Picture Tube tool, start painting from the bottom to the top using the brown_feathers tube.
Load the neck selection from the alpha channel.
Invert this selection and hit delete.
Deselect.
Make the head layer active and add a new raster layer. Name it head2.
Paint the head using the white_feathers tube starting from the bottom and going up.
Load the head selection from the alpha channel.
Invert this selection and hit delete.
Deselect.
Add a new raster layer and name it head3. Move it under the head2 layer.
Paint just the bottom part of the head now as shown below.
(optional) Load the head selection again and invert it.
Delete the unwanted areas using the Eraser tool.
» Settings: size = 50, hardness = 50, opacity = 100, step = 1, density = 100.
Deselect.
Make the neck2 layer active.
With the Retouch tool, blend both paintings by smudging the bottom edge of the first one. Follow the feathers’ movement from top to bottom.
» Settings: Smudge, shape = round (use shape = round always), size = 50, hardness = 0, opacity = 50, step = 1, density = 100.
Change the size to 15 and the opacity to 75 and use the tool on the back of the head and on the area underneath the beak.
Make the eyebrow layer active.
Add a new raster layer. Name it eyebrow2.
Paint this layer using the white_feathers tube. Change the tube’s scale to 75.
Load the eyebrow selection from the alpha channel and invert it.
Hit delete.
Deselect.
Use the Retouch tool set to smudge to blend the edges to the head.
Make the beak#1 layer active and convert it to raster.
With the Retouch tool set to Hue Down make a slightly red spot on the left area.
» Settings: size = 25, hardness = 0, opacity 10, step = 50, density = 100.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Darken RGB and make a dark spot on the middle area of the beak.
» Settings: size = 50, hardness = 0, opacity = 50, step = 25, density = 100.
Change the opacity to 100 and click once on the top area of the dark spot.
Make the beak#2 layer active and convert it to raster.
Change the Retouch tool mode back to Hue Down and use it near the same place you used it on beak#1.
Change the brush size to 50 and use it close to the nostril.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Lighten RGB and use it on the top edge of the beak going all the way to the tip.
» Settings: size = 50, hardness = 0, opacity = 100, step = 25, density = 100.
Make the area close to the head really shiny.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Burn and use it just a little bit on the area close to the head.
» Settings: size = 50, hardness = 0, opacity = 10, step = 25, density = 100.
With the Retouch tool set to Smudge and opacity to 15 and blend the beak to the head (both beak#1 and beak#2).
Smudge just the left edges.
Make the nostril layer active and convert it to raster.
Use the Retouch tool with the Burn mode set just on the bottom left area.
Since the eye has been colored using just 4 retouch modes, I’ll show you the final look of it and then you choose which mode to use.
Basically the very dark areas were made using the Burn mode, the intermediate dark areas were made using the Darken RGB mode, the intermediate light areas were made using the Lighten RGB mode and the bright areas were made using the Dodge mode.
The brush size I used varied from 10 to 25 and the opacity was around 25 for the Burn and Dodge modes and 50 for the Darken RGB and Lighten RGB modes.
Make each of the desired layers active and convert to raster in order to start working with the Retouch tool.
On the eye#4 layer I used used the Hue Up mode to give a greenish hue before using the Dodge mode.
For the shiny spots I used size = 3.
Since eagles have quite an agry look I decided to move the eyebrow a little bit to the bottom and to the left.
To finish giving depth to the eye, make the head2 layer active.
With the Retouch tool set to the Darken RGB mode, darken the area around the eye following the eyebrow shape.
» Settings: size = 25, hardness = 0, opacity = 50, step = 25, density = 100.
Change the Retouch tool mode to Saturation Up and use it on the dark area you’ve just created.
» Settings: size = 50, hardness = 0, opacity = 25, step = 25, density = 100.
And after all these steps, your bald eagle is finally ready :)
Creatures · Mar 01, 2003 ·